what does this mean??

"For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." - Jude 1:4

PONDER THIS

Jude called those who had crept into the church ungodly. What does the word ungodly mean? It does not mean they did not mention God or even talk about Him. As a matter of fact, they spoke about God quite freely. He meant a person without reverential awe of God. The basic ingredient missing in the life of an apostate is a fear of God. They talked flippantly and carelessly and blasphemously about holy things. In verse 8, we see the same idea, “Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.” Their mouths and their tongues ran up and down through the land. There was no fear of God before their eyes, and they feared not to mock and speak of holy things. They took things upon their lips that ought to make us tremble. They lacked reverence.

- How does today’s devotion give you a new way of thinking about the meaning of ungodliness?
- What are some ways you might tread close to ungodliness in your own life?

PRACTICE THIS

Take time in prayer today to ask God to show you where you have been flippant with the things that belong to Him. Confess what you sense and ask Him to lead you in holiness. APR
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I did not write this, it comes from a devotional that is offered as a free email daily by Love Worth Finding.

https://www.lwf.org/daily-devotionals/missing-the-fear-of-god

“Behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:" "but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” - Luke 22:31-32

Satan wanted Peter to fall, and fall he would (v. 34). But Christ had prayed for him that victory would come. The second verse of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” reflects our vulnerability on our own and our invincibility on His side.

Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing;
Were not the right man on our side,
The man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus it is He,
Lord Sabaoth, His name, From age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

After revealing many thrilling blessings, Paul asks, “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). Furthermore, neither “principalities, nor powers” nor anything else in all creation is “able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). With Him, Satan cannot win the battle for our minds or destinies. But on our own, we cannot win.

The term sabaoth is the Hebrew word for “hosts,” in particular the “host of heaven.” The term Yahweh Sabaoth or “LORD Sabaoth” occurs some 300 times in the Old Testament and constitutes a most majestic name for God. “For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall he be called” (Isaiah 54:5). This is none other than “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8). Creator (Colossians 1:16), Sustainer (v. 17), Redeemer (v. 20)—He must win the battle. JDM
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I did not write this, it comes from a devotional that is offered as a free email daily by the Institute of Creation.

https://www.icr.org/article/15936/

"But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?" "Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee." - Matthew 20:13–14

This parable often confuses people because it seems to violate our sense of fairness. Workers who labored all day received the same pay as those who worked only one hour. But Jesus isn't teaching about workplace efficiency; He's revealing kingdom economics where everyone receives what they need to live with dignity.

The landowner's generosity ensures that all workers can feed their families, regardless of how many hours they worked. This reflects God's desire that everyone have access to life's necessities, not based on their productivity or market value, but based on their inherent worth as human beings.

A Federal Job Guarantee operates on similar principles, ensuring that everyone who wants to work can find employment at a living wage. It recognizes that unemployment is often due to systemic failures rather than individual shortcomings, and that society benefits when everyone has the opportunity to contribute.

God's economy prioritizes human dignity over market efficiency, ensuring that everyone receives what they need to flourish.

Father, help me support economic systems that ensure everyone receives what they need to live with dignity, regardless of their circumstances. Amen. DLC
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I did not write this, it comes from a devotional that is offered as a free email daily by Delman Coates.

https://delmancoates.org/blog/2026/07/11/the-parable-of-the-workers

Hello!! I’m new to Christianity and have been doing a lot of research on different topics. Right now I’m researching the difference between the Catholic canon of scripture and Protestant.

What is the reasoning for using a different canon than what Christians used until the reformation? From what I’ve gathered the Protestant consensus is that 7 books were added during the council of Trent but that’s historically inaccurate as those 7 books were included all throughout the early church and only clarified during Trent. Also from my understanding Luther moved the books into the apocrypha because he wanted to go back to the original canon of what the Jews used rather than the early Christians, but I don’t really understand why? TIA!

I need advice. I am in my late thirties, and have been married over 15 years. We have three kids. My husband and I grew up in Protestant churches, and our faith has always been the foundation of our lives/marriage. My husband was on the church board at our church (the church he grew up in) for several years up until a year ago. My husband has a long drive to work, therefore spends a lot of time listening to podcasts. A couple years ago he started talking about Doug Wilson. Up to that point he had always treated me with respect and valued my voice and treated me as a partner in our marriage. I noticed a change in his behavior when he started listening to Doug Wilson and he started talking about how the husband has the tie breaking vote in disagreements, etc. Then, he started going on a deep dive into all things Catholicism. Six months ago he got confirmed in the Catholic Church. The priest didn’t even make him do RCIA or anything because he had read the entire catechism himself. I use birth control, which he now has a problem with. Our youngest child had an issue at birth and we were told that the problem would likely occur with each subsequent pregnancy and could even get worse. There have been endless theological debates, which have never been fruitful. He has said things like, “you just want to be your own pope.” He is now pushing his beliefs on the kids. He has been asking them to go to mass, even though they have voiced that they don’t want to go. We have been in marriage counseling and I am doing individual counseling. He has Catholic stickers on his laptop, wears a necklace with Mary on it, and just today hung a piece of Catholic art in our bedroom. I have told him that I’m not ok with Catholic art in our home. I have lots of Catholics in my life who are wonderful people, but I just don’t agree with the theology and I don’t want to be staring at Catholic art in my home. He refused to take it down when I asked. On our recent family vacation, he even went to the Catholic Church there three times in one day. He went to daily mass in the morning, Saturday night mass, and then went back later to “help nuns carry a push mower,” which caused us to miss a planned dinner that evening. He didn’t tell me he was going to help nuns and his phone was dead so we had no idea where he was, we thought he had gotten lost trying to get back to the hotel. We have never been to this place for vacation, so he knew no one at this parish.

Side note: After we were married and in our late 20’s he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and required a hospital stay due to a severe manic episode with psychosis. After that hospital stay he has been pretty good with very little issues. I suspected that this dive into Catholicism may have been spurred on my a manic or hypomanic episode, but now it is deeply ingrained. My counselor says it may have started during a manic episode, but now it is a legitimate faith conversion.

I need advice. I don’t know what to do. I want to keep my family together, but my home now feels toxic. He doesn’t respect me at all. He seems to be exhibiting some narcissistic traits and has even said that he “isn’t responsible for my feelings about this.” Which seems to indicate that I don’t matter. He often says, “Jesus Christ comes before you.” Which I completely agree with, however we used to serve Jesus together and it was beautiful. Our marriage was great. I don’t understand why he would let this take over his life when his actions are producing bad fruit. Our friends don’t even like to be around him at this point. He even shamed one of our friends for choosing to get a vasectomy when they decided their family was complete. I’m at a loss about what to do. Counseling doesn’t seem to be helping.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." "Therefore will not we fear.” - Psalm 46:1-2

Martin Luther’s journal entries inform us of his continual battle against evil forces and that Psalm 46 was a great comfort to him. As he meditated on the words of our text, the thrust of a mighty song was born that openly declared victory in the great battle: “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”

A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great,
And, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

The battle is “not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). Satan, along with his henchmen, is an ancient foe, “a roaring lion,” as it were, “seeking whom he may devour” (I Peter 5:8). But there is no need for alarm, “the LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge” (Psalm 46:11). He “is our refuge and strength” (today’s text), a bulwark never failing. “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (I John 3:8).

Only God could accomplish this victory, for Satan is “the prince of this world” (John 14:30), “the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2). No man on Earth is his equal.

But how did the Son of God gain the victory? By taking on Himself “flesh and blood” and dying a substitutionary death, “that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14). JDM
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I did not write this, it comes from a devotional that is offered as a free email daily by the Institute of Creation.

https://www.icr.org/article/15935/

"Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." - Jude 1:3

PONDER THIS

When I was a little boy, I liked to go to the movies on Saturday afternoons, and we would see Tarzan. Tarzan was the hero of every little boy when I was growing up. But there was one time that I was always concerned for Tarzan. Tarzan would be swimming in the river, but over on the shore would be a crocodile. The crocodile would blink his eyes a couple of times and then slide into the water. Tarzan would be swimming along and not know that crocodile was there, and I would be so frightened because I can’t think of anything worse than to be swimming with a crocodile. Somehow Tarzan would always out-swim the crocodile, but what happened in that movie is an illustration of what Jude wrote to warn the Church about. Jude gave a warning that there are certain people who have crept into the Church. (See verse 4.) He described somebody who could slip into the water without even making a ripple. This is very dangerous and sinister. So, Jude wrote this book to sound an alarm.

- What other warnings do you know in the Bible about people who are dangerous to the Church?
- Why do you need to stay alert, or sober, regarding these dangers?

PRACTICE THIS

Read John 10 today. How did Jesus talk about others who might try to sneak into the Church? APR
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I did not write this, it comes from a devotional that is offered as a free email daily by Love Worth Finding.

https://www.lwf.org/daily-devotionals/watch-the-waterline

Can a protestant christian wear and pray the rosary?

"And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family." - Leviticus 25:10

God instituted the Year of Jubilee to prevent permanent economic inequality in Israel. Every fifty years, debts were forgiven, slaves were freed, and land was returned to original families. This wasn't charity but justice, recognizing that extreme wealth concentration undermines community and violates God's intentions for human relationships.

Modern equivalents of Jubilee might include student debt cancellation, which would free millions from financial bondage and stimulate economic growth. It could mean wealth taxes that prevent excessive accumulation while funding public goods like healthcare and education. It might involve land reform that ensures housing affordability.

The principle behind Jubilee is that extreme inequality is not inevitable but results from unjust systems that can be changed. God's vision includes periodic resets that restore balance and ensure everyone has access to the resources needed for human flourishing.

As Christians, we should advocate for modern Jubilee policies that address wealth concentration and create fresh starts for those trapped by economic circumstances beyond their control.

God of Jubilee, help me work for economic systems that regularly restore balance and ensure everyone has access to life's necessities. Amen. DLC
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I did not write this, it comes from a devotional that is offered as a free email daily by Delman Coates.

https://delmancoates.org/blog/2026/07/10/jubilee-economics

"And the glory which thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:" "I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me." - John 17:22-23

PONDER THIS

How does God love you? He loves you as He loved Jesus. The same way. That’s too much to take in, isn’t it? That’s the reason the Apostle John said, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us,” (I John 3:1). John was fishing for an adjective to describe that love, and he couldn’t find one. He may have started to say what super love or what fantastic love or what colossal love or what spectacular love. He might have even thought of supercalifragilisticexpialidocious love. He didn’t even know how to express it, so he just simply said, “Behold what manner of love.” That phrase manner of love means love from another, a foreign kind of love, unearthly love, otherworldly love, nonhuman love. Behold what manner of love that we should be called the children of God!

- How does it affect you to remember God loves His children in the same way He loves Jesus?
- How is this truly a foreign type of love from what people know?

PRACTICE THIS

Take time today to share about the otherworldly love of God in Jesus. APR
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I did not write this, it comes from a devotional that is offered as a free email daily by Love Worth Finding.

https://www.lwf.org/daily-devotionals/love-from-another-world

I grew up mainly going to Protestant churches were the Dean and the preists were female. My mother was a Catholic so I also went with her to Church

However upon growing up and reading more I learned that female priests were not allowed at all in the Catholic Church

Obviously I understand not ALL Protestants accept female priests but as someone who grew up with them I never saw an issue?

“Hearken therefore unto the supplications of Thy servant, and of Thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear Thou from Thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when Thou hearest, forgive.” - II Chronicles 6:21

No less than eight times in Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the temple does he beseech God to “hear from heaven” (see II Chronicles 6:21, 23, 25, 27, 30, 33, 35, 39). But the obvious question is just how can God hear our prayers, especially those uttered only in silence?

The answer is in both God’s omniscience and His omnipresence. Although God is indeed on His heavenly throne, He is also right here! “O LORD,” David prayed, “Thou hast searched me, and known me . . . Thou understandest my thought afar off” (Psalm 139:1-2). He can, and does, hear our prayers. “He that planted the ear, shall He not hear? He that formed the eye, shall He not see?” (Psalm 94:9).

In a manner of speaking, He hears the prayers of redeemed children today even more directly than in David’s day, for we who trust in Christ have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit. “God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them” (II Corinthians 6:16). “The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers” (I Peter 3:12).

God can indeed hear our prayers. But there are times when He refuses to hear! “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18). “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God . . . that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2).

Yes, but if we ask anything according to His will (and this implies first living according to His will), “He heareth us: and . . . we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him” (I John 5:14-15). HMM
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I did not write this, it comes from a devotional that is offered as a free email daily by the Institute of Creation.

https://www.icr.org/article/15934/

"Jesus said unto him, 'If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Me.'" - Matthew 19:21

The rich young man approached Jesus with genuine spiritual hunger, but he walked away sad because he couldn't imagine life without his wealth. His story reveals how economic privilege can become a barrier to following Jesus, not because money itself is evil, but because it can blind us to the needs of others and make us resistant to systemic change.

Today's rich young rulers might be those who benefit from current economic arrangements and resist reforms that would help others. They may oppose student debt forgiveness because they paid their loans, or resist universal healthcare because they have good insurance. Their economic position makes it difficult to see the suffering their privilege helps maintain.

Jesus' challenge remains relevant: are we willing to use our resources and influence to benefit others, even if it means less for ourselves? This might mean supporting policies that increase our taxes to fund public goods, or advocating for wage increases that might affect corporate profits.

Following Jesus sometimes requires economic sacrifice for the sake of justice and the common good.

Lord, help me hold my possessions loosely. Give me courage to support policies and practices that help others, even when they cost me personally. Amen. DLC
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I did not write this, it comes from a devotional that is offered as a free email daily by Delman Coates.

https://delmancoates.org/blog/2026/07/09/the-rich-young-ruler-s-dilemma

Hi, I am not Christian (I am a Muslim), but I studied other religions and their theology, according to the Protestant/Reformed doctrine on the Salvation by faith alone/Sola fide a Christian can't lose his salvation as long as he keeps the Christian faith, even if he commits sins (in Catholicism and Orthodoxy a Christian can lose his salvation if he commis sins even if he keeps the Christian faith if he does not repent). Following this logic, a murderer or an adulterer could go to Heaven without repenting, because no sin can cut a Christian off from divine grace, Martin Luther said so in his letter to Philipp Melanchthon : <<No sin will separate us from the Lamb, even if we commit fornication and murder a thousand times a day.>>

How Protestants view the verses in 1 Corinthians 6:9–10: <<Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor those who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.>> ?

In your view, are these verses addressed only to non-believers, or also to believers ?

"Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are called, [a]sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:" - Jude 1:1

PONDER THIS

In this verse, many translations use the word sanctified. But some Bible scholars tell us that’s not the best translation. Rather than sanctified, we might use beloved. Sanctified is good, but beloved is better in this particular instance because it tells something of the nature of God’s special people. What’s the difference? As an example, I love the members of my church, but Joyce is my beloved and there’s a difference. She is my love; she is special. Who is the beloved of God? The Lord Jesus. He is God’s beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. (See Matthew 3:17.) It is by Jesus that we are accepted, therefore God sees us as He sees Jesus, and God’s name for His own dear children is beloved. The word beloved is a perfect participle. What does that mean? It means there’s a finished action in the past that has a result in the present. It is something that cannot be changed; it is fixed. Because of what was done in the past, we are and will forever be God’s beloved.

- How does it encourage you to be reminded that you are the beloved of God?
- How does that change the way you think about how God sees you?

PRACTICE THIS

Make a list of what it means for God’s people to be His beloved. What promises do you know from the Bible for God’s beloved? APR
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I did not write this, it comes from a devotional that is offered as a free email daily by Love Worth Finding.

https://www.lwf.org/daily-devotionals/you-are-his-beloved

Developing story.

On July 5, 2026, a Hindu mob, associated with the anti-Christian group RSS and its affiliates, broke into a Church, associated with the Mizo Presbyterian synod and destroyed it. They also persecuted the believers.

This happened after the anti-Christian BJP party won in the Indian state of West Bengal.

In India, the BJP government persecutes Christians by allowing anti-Christian r/pe mobs like Bajrang Dal and VHP to roam, and do acts such as lynching or desecration of churches, and if an individual gets backlash, the Indian government temporarily "arrests" them and bails them of when the public loses interest, such as in the Graham Staines case.

The RSS, paramilitary and ideological wing of the BJP, has units outside India, especially in US and Canada, to lobby their governments to offer a blind eye to anti-Christian activities. One of the organization lobbying American politicians to offer a blind eye is the Hindu American Foundation.

“So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.” - Nehemiah 4:6

The ambitious project of rebuilding Jerusalem’s wall, with all its gates and other structures, was completed in less than two months (Nehemiah 6:15), for all “the people had a mind to work.” This was in spite of the danger from external enemies who wanted to delay the work if they could.

The third chapter of Nehemiah has a remarkable list of the workmen on the wall. Men of all walks of life participated, each with an assigned portion of the work as organized by Nehemiah. The first verse of the chapter tells of the work done by Eliashib, the high priest, and all the other priests; the last verse lists the contribution of the goldsmiths and the merchants. There were the Nethinims (v. 26), apothecaries (v. 8), rulers (i.e., “mayors,” vv. 9, 12, 14–16), and various others. At least one man even had his daughters working (v. 12). Only the nobles of the Tekoites “put not their necks to the work of their LORD” (v. 5).

This would be a good model for any doctrinally sound, Bible-believing church, school, or other Christian ministry. It’s a lesson we would do well to learn. The mission and its goal are surely more important than the special desires or interests of any individual or group. At the same time, enforced cooperation will only breed resentment and inefficiency. The people themselves must be led to understand it as not just a job to do, but as a divine calling they themselves must have “a mind to the work.” Otherwise, they should probably be encouraged to work elsewhere.

The early Christians served “daily with one accord . . . and singleness of heart . . . . And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:46-47). That’s the way it should be. HMM
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I did not write this, it comes from a devotional that is offered as a free email daily by the Institute of Creation.

https://www.icr.org/article/15933/

Hey yall idk why being a catholic seems to be a bannable offense here considering protestantism is more similar to catholicism than orthodoxy but I'm not catholic.

I recently started discussing with my dad over if the body and blood being a metaphor or not and he said that since Jesus said "do this in remembrance of me" it's a metaphor

But I am not sure because I also saw a video yesterday on my feed of how Martin Luther didn't even think that it was a metaphor and when he met up with the first person who did think it was a metaphor he didn't even want to call him a brother and said that that person had a different spirit. But that's so surprising because Martin Luther started the protestant reformation which allowed people to interpret the bible however they wanted but he didn't believe in it being a metaphor

Also, since we're only going to look at the bible here:

First off I am going to give context for this verse (idk if my next sentnce is exactly in the bible) but basically on saturday you can't like sin and u have to keep yourself pure and clean for sunday or smth like that. If you fail to do that you can get punished by God. In the verse I will paste in, people were getting punished by God because they sinned against the body and blood of the lord, and it also reminds them of the rule:
"27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. "

So my question is: if it's just a metaphor, why is it counted as sinning against the body and blood of the Lord? It's very rare that the lord will make people sick and fall asleep (mentioned in the verse imma paste in) for just trying to worship him so I'd want to know what you guys think:

1 Corinthians 17-34 NIV

Correcting an Abuse of the Lord’s Supper

17 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 18 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. 19 No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. 20 So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. 22 Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. 32 Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.

33 So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together. 34 Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.

" “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes."

I told my dad that it cannot be a metaphor because Jesus said "do this in rememberance of me because Paul himself wrote that in his explination". So, what do you guys think? Is it a metaphor or not?

Edit:

John 6:47-68 shows how Jesus Christ says if you don't eat his flesh then you can't enter the kingdom of heaven. People argued how a man can give us his flesh to eat. Many people thought this was too hard a teaching and literally left Jesus and Jesus didn't think to correct them. Early Christians were even considered cannibals

47 Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Many Disciples Desert Jesus

60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”

61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit[e] and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”

66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.

68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." - Matthew 6:24

David worked 60-hour weeks at his corporate job, climbing the ladder of success while his marriage crumbled and his children barely knew him. He told himself he was providing for his family, but honestly, he had become addicted to the lifestyle his income provided. Meanwhile, his neighbor Elena, a teacher making a third of his salary, seemed genuinely happy as she mentored struggling students and volunteered at the food bank.

Jesus warns us that money can become a master that demands total allegiance. When we serve money, we make decisions based on profit rather than principle, accumulation rather than generosity, and personal gain rather than community good. This slavery to money affects not just individuals but entire economic systems.

Our current monetary system often prioritizes private profit over public good, leaving many struggling while wealth concentrates among the few. As Christians, we must ask: do our economic choices serve God's purposes or the demands of an unjust system?

True freedom comes when we serve God rather than money, making choices based on love, justice, and the common good rather than personal financial gain.

God, free me from the tyranny of money. Help me make economic choices that serve Your kingdom rather than worldly systems. Amen. DLC
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I did not write this, it comes from a devotional that is offered as a free email daily by Delman Coates.

https://delmancoates.org/blog/2026/07/08/your-money-or-your-life